The Utilization and Maintenance of Abandoned Urban Farmland in Kansai Metropolitan Area, Japan

One of the characteristics of Japanese cities is that a lot of farmlands exist in the urban area. In addition, Japanese society is facing the issue of a depopulating society andit is thought that the demand for the urban land use will decrease. So it is necessary to show the direction of efficient utilization of the urban farmland for city planning. This study aims to clarify the amount of stock and the distribution of farmlands in the urban area and to clarify the characteristics of urban farmlands conservation efforts by new utilizations with new entities. The results of this study are as follows: 1) In the Kansai metropolitan area, 8,393 hectares of farmlands exist in 167,805 hectares of the Urbanization Promotion Area and the ratio of the farmland is 5.0%. 2) According to the literature search and the questionnaire survey, 9 types and 268 cases of the new utilizations of urban farmlands were collected in the Kansai metropolitan area. 3) As a result of the direct interview survey or hearing, it was clarified that the understanding offarmers and citizens is a big issue and the role of the intermediary organization is important to entrust the utilization and maintenance of abandoned farmlands by new entities.

One of the characteristics of Japanese cities is that a lot of farmlands exist in the urban area. In addition, Japanese society is facing the issue of a depopulating society andit is thought that the demand for the urban land use will decrease. So it is necessary to show the direction of efficient utilization of the urban farmland for city planning. This study aims to clarify the amount of stock and the distribution of farmlands in the urban area and to clarify the characteristics of urban farmlands conservation efforts by new utilizations with new entities. The results of this study are as follows: 1) In the Kansai metropolitan area, 8,393 hectares of farmlands exist in 167,805 hectares of the Urbanization Promotion Area and the ratio of the farmland is 5.0%. 2) According to the literature search and the questionnaire survey, 9 types and 268 cases of the new utilizations of urban farmlands were collected in the Kansai metropolitan area. 3) As a result of the direct interview survey or hearing, it was clarified that the understanding offarmers and citizens is a big issue and the role of the intermediary organization is important to entrust the utilization and maintenance of abandoned farmlands by new entities.